"This
would be a very different university today, if not
for Lyman T. Johnson. Because of that, we are committed
to honoring him."

--
Chester
Grundy, director of UK African-American Student Affairs

July
11, 2002 (Lexington, Ky.) -- To
honor the efforts and achievements of Lyman T. Johnson,
an African-American pioneer, the University of Kentucky
is undertaking a commemorative bust and monument project.
Chester Grundy, director of UK African-American Student
Affairs, developed the monument idea with art professor
Bobby Scroggins.

"We know
that Lyman Johnson changed the character of the University
of Kentucky," Grundy said. "This would be a very different
university today, if not for Lyman T. Johnson. Because
of that, we are committed to honoring him."

Scroggins
has designed a life-sized bust of Johnson in hopes
it would be placed in a visible campus location.

To support
the monument projects, Scroggins designed a smaller
version of the bust, a limited quantity of which is
being sold at $250 each.

In 1948,
Johnson, with the support of the Kentucky chapter
of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, challenged Kentucky's racial segregation
laws by applying for admission to the UK Graduate
School.

When it
was shown that other graduate programs in the state
set aside for African-Americans were not equal to
that of UK, Johnson was granted admission to UK's
law school. Several UK administrators have shown support
for the project already.

Busts have
been purchased by the provost, Minority Affairs, the
Commission on Diversity, Lexington Community College
Minority Affairs and others.